Insider Hints at Knicks Plan for Mitchell Robinson

The New York Knicks are expected to get a literal boost come winter.

In the midst of early defensive struggles, the Knicks have sorely missed tenured center Mitchell Robinson, who continues to rehab from ankle injuries that ate away at most of his recent Manhattan campaign. Robinson is not expected to take the floor until winter.

Responding to fan queries in his latest mailbag, SNY Knicks insider Ian Begley reported that Robinson’s rehab is “going well” and also outlined the potential plan for his collaboration with newcomer Karl-Anthony Towns.

“I can say confidently that New York will want to see lineups with Towns and Mitchell Robinson on the floor together, if possible,” Begley said. “Robinson is currently rehabbing from foot surgery. If/when he makes it back to the floor, he will probably come off the bench initially. I can’t see him starting right away. But I do think the Knicks want to see how a Towns/Robinson frontcourt performs.”

Robinson is waiting to make his seventh season debut with the Knicks and he has been the primary center for each of the last four campaigns. His absence has become particularly glaring after the Knicks also lost Isaiah Hartenstein to Oklahoma City, which necessitated the late trade for Towns.

Begley notes that the Knicks want to keep Towns at the five but that previous collaboration with a defensive-minded big man worked out fairly well in Minnesota.

“Last season, the Timberwolves had a lot of success with Towns at power forward and Rudy Gobert at center,” Begley said. “Towns played power forward for 95 percent of his 2,000-plus minutes last year, per Basketball Reference. The Knicks obviously don’t want Towns playing power forward 95 percent of the time this year. But I do think they’d like to see how lineups with Towns and Robinson function.”

While Robinson has given the Knicks a unique advantage in the paint, the team has flourished on offense with Towns spreading the floor. Towns is averaging 26.5 points and 12.2 rebounds over his first 11 showings as a Knick, which included a 46-tally output in Wednesday’s loss to Chicago.

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